Solar System School: Göttingen and Braunschweig focus on the future of research!

Solar System School: Göttingen and Braunschweig focus on the future of research!

On October 1, 2025, the “Solar System School” will officially become a permanent institution for doctoral training in Göttingen and Braunschweig. This important institution has the official name “International Max Planck Research School on Solar System Science at the University of Göttingen and at TU Braunschweig”. uni-goettingen.de reported. The graduate school is the result of a long-term collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the University of Göttingen and the Technical University of Braunschweig.

Since its founding 24 years ago, the graduate school has been one of the oldest of its kind and has established itself as a central training facility for aspiring scientists. Every year around 200 students from around the world apply for a place to benefit from the diversity of topics ranging from the sun and planets to asteroids, comets and exoplanets. In the past 24 years, 245 students have successfully completed their doctorates.

Programs and research areas

The Solar System School recruits and supports outstanding young scientists and offers a research-oriented doctoral program. Graduates can carry out their dissertations in an expert environment that includes geophysics, planetary physics, solar and stellar physics, fundamental physics and chemistry, and space technology. Graduate students have access to high-profile space missions as well as extensive data analysis projects, such as mps.mpg.de is explained.

The curriculum provides an interdisciplinary and solid scientific education in astronomy, astrophysics, solar physics and planetary science. The program also includes additional qualification courses for academic and non-academic careers. The language of instruction is English and admission to the program is competitive. Applicants need a master's degree in a relevant field, including physics, earth sciences or chemistry.

Career prospects and support

Around two thirds of graduate school graduates continue their careers in science, and around a quarter receive a professorship within five years. During their three-year training period, the doctoral students are advised by experienced scientists, which significantly improves their career prospects. Successful applicants receive a three-year doctoral contract as well as funding for a subsequent postdoc phase.

The interdisciplinary concept of the Solar System School is part of the larger supporting program of the Max Planck Schools, which includes a total of 27 universities and 35 non-university research institutes. These schools focus on innovative research approaches in areas such as cognition, matter to life and photonics. How mpg.de reports, these schools not only promote scientific training, but also the networking of up to 50 leading researchers per school for a more comprehensive scientific perspective.

The Max Planck Society will continue to run the graduate school for an indefinite period of time, thereby ensuring a sustainable and high-quality training program for the next generation of researchers in the field of solar system science.